Reflections on the year that was, musically of course.

Overall, 2012 was a great year for music. It was a year for innovative breakthroughs and wonderful follow-up records. The originality of last year’s music was manifested in the various means artists used to fuse and diversify genres. The following is a list of my favourite albums and EP’s of last year, in no particular order.

1. Jose James: No Beginning No End
Why?
Delicious melting pot of jazz, soul, hip-hop and electronic. Jose’s voice and lyricism lends a deep sensuality to the record.

2. Beach House: Bloom
Why?
The magnetic fusion of dark, hypnotic vocals and psychadelic electronic instrumentation. Melancholic and inspiring. Paves the way for the future of Beach House.

3. Flume: Flume
Why?
Electronic beat making at its finest. The collaborative artists that appear on this record diversify and complement it, fusing together their unique voices with Flume’s instrumentation.

4. Frank Ocean: Channel Orange
Why?
Articulate, raw and innovative. Ocean’s debut pushes the boundaries of hip-hop and Rnb. A real storyteller.

5. Miguel: Kaleidoscope Dream
Why?
Confessional. Beautiful sincerity and sensitivity in Miguel’s voice and lyricism.

6. Hiatus Kaiyote: Tawk Tomahawk
Why?
Enigmatic vocalist and instrumentation. A kaleidocope of jazz, neo-soul and electronic, with a touch of latin. A universal sound.

7. Alpine: A is for Alpine
Why?
One of the best live gigs I have ever seen. Sensual, alluring and harmonious. Phoebe and Louise have an amazing synergy, complemented perfectly by the synth-pop instrumentation.

8. Chet Faker: Thinking in Textures
Why?
Faker’s voice alone is enough to make this list. Pure, soulful and raw. Add a couple of synthesisers and you have the wonderful bearded Chet Faker.

9. The xx: Coexist
Why?
A wonderful follow-up record. Not many artists can produce an equally matched and consistent second album. Collectively, Coexist is more melancholic than its predecessor, a succesful transition in experimentalism. This record never fails to give me goosebumps.

10. Tame Impala: Lonerism
Why?
Reminiscent of 60′s psychadelia. Dreamy and distorted. Leaves the listener in a state of euphoria.